I can see the additional license grant has benefits for the Initial Developer. Does it have any benefits to the rest of the Open Source community?
Yes – it makes relicensing, and subsequent dual licensing far easier. The Initial Developer, as he is given an unrestricted license to the code (so long as he continues to make it available under the OVPL/OVLPL) can also sublicense it, including any modifications. This allows the Initial Developer to subsequently decide to license the code under a new license (perhaps the GPL, or a BSD license) without having to contact and gain the permission of each individual contributor. Of course, the software will still be available under the OVPL/OVLPL as an alternative. Many vendors wish to make a transition to Open Source gradually, and this license helps them do that, which in turn helps the Open Source community.
Related Questions
- What is all this about an additional license grant to the Initial Developer? Why would I want to contribute to an open source project under a license with this term in?
- I can see the additional license grant has benefits for the Initial Developer. Does it have any benefits to the rest of the Open Source community?
- If an employee dies before retirement age, do those years qualify in determining additional survivor benefits?
